Administrative law and public sector in Austria

‘All of the teams members we met, seem to on top of things. We always get the information and response we requested and didn’t have any problems.’

‘The team is very competent in administrative law and supports project development. They work on difficult topics under tight deadlines with great thoroughness.’

‘Mr. Schmelz sets the pace in meetings and negotiations due to his vast experience and thus supports the client’s concerns. Mr. Schlatter thoroughly works out the basics and always keeps the overview.’

‘When it comes to administrative and constitutional law, Schoenherr’s public law group is known as no 1 in the market. We fully understand why. They have unparalleled expertise not only in planning and environment, but also in many other fields of public law as well as in constitutional law.

‘What’s really stunning is their capabilities and expertise in environmental law and in permit proceedings. Their service is impressive. You get top legal advice within a very short time. They anticipate future questions or problems and solve them even before they arise. They are able to lead through very complex proceedings and lead large teams. They keep calm also in the most demanding situations. And in all circumstances they are friendly and charming. Their overall performance is simply extraordinary.’

‘Christian Schmelz, who is leading the team, is probably the most regarded practitioner in this field and regarded as the “doyen” of public law. He is at the forefront of all new developments in public and environmental law and also in political or ecological developments. He is simply outstanding: his technical and ecological competence is extraordinary high; he is excellent in negotiations and his “social competence” is very high; he is available around the clock, very effective and quick; he is innovative; his approach is solution oriented, his advice “to the point”. All in all: I can’t imagine him doing anything better.’

‘I want to stress that Christian Schmelz has created a team of exceptionally professional lawyers. Every one of them is outstanding. Each of them delivers excellent quality in shortest time frames and has extraordinary high legal, social and technical competences.’

‘The processing of the tasks by Schönherr and here in particular by Christian Schmelz’s team is always at the highest technical level and on schedule.’

‘Competence of each individual lawyer paired with the uncomplicated internal coordination with other internal office departments’

‘Christian F. Schneider: clear communication, rapid grasping of complex issues, coordination with other areas within the law firm, clearly understandable recommendations for action/formulations (no page-long memos), thinking outside the box.’

‘The team is very responsive and is able to coordinate with different offices of the firm to provide pan-European advice covering several Eastern EU Member States.’

‘Armin Schwabl in the Vienna office is very dedicated, responsive and reliable. He provides good practical advice and can be trusted.’

‘Customer-minded. Flexible fees.’

‘The team from CERHA HEMPEL is unique in its legal knowledge – combining a hands on approach with academic excellence, in their responsiveness and their knowledge not only of our market, but also of the politically sensitive environment.’

‘They are always available and come up with out of the box solutions, built on their impressive legal capacities.’

‘As regards billing, they always offer solutions that also benefit the client.’ ‘

‘The project team from CERHA HEMPEL is being led by Hans Kristoferitsch, who has not only in depth legal knowledge but brilliantly manages authority contacts as well as requests from our company’s top management.’

‘Stefan Huber’s responsiveness is impressive, and he has a clear view on strategic as well as technical questions.’

‘Very good knowledge of EU law and especially energy legal framework (incl. ITO-rules).’

‘Florian Stangl: very good skills in EU law and energy law.’

‘Outstanding expertise in advising clients from regulated industries (in particular healthcare) in Austria and Eastern Europe.’

‘I regularly work with Dr. Kurt Retter from Wolf Theiss who has in-depth expertise in advising clients from the Austrian healthcare sector.’

‘Responsive and knowledgeable in the gaming field, with a particular emphasis on administrative litigation.’

‘Prompt responses.’

‘The team regularly advises our company on complex issues. I would say their expertise is unique – experts of such calibre are rare in any market. Top-level professionals with matter-oriented approach being experts in their business sector. Attention to clients’ needs and details.’

‘Professional high-level approach of Kurt Retter.’

‘We have been working with WT for many years already since they are able to provide premium legal advice in all the key areas which are relevant for us.’

‘Cooperation is swift and easy through our main contact points, who involve specialists from different legal areas, if and to the extent needed. Naturally, work products are of high legal quality, but also come with the added value of WT lawyers understanding our business and always striving to provide practical solutions, even if that means less fees for them.’

‘We usually have cases that require advice on the interplay between regulatory, public policy and competition questions. There are only very few firms who are able to adequately handle these cases in Austria and Binder is certainly one of them. We hugely benefitted from their Partners’ and Lawyers’ broad expertise.’

‘Johannes Barbist is second to no one when it comes to cases that require both, regulatory and competition law knowledge. He has an incredible knowledge of both of these areas which is very helpful for us. At the same time he is very easy (and a pleasure) to work with.’

‘Excellent knowledge combined with can do attitude.’

‘Great insight in foreign trade issues, particularly investment control proceedings.’

‘Johannes Barbist and Regina Kröll: Both are great team workers and have a high knowledge of national and international trade issues.’

‘For sure the most knowledgeable lawyers in Austria , I have ever engaged. Fast and precise answers with all pros and cons. Excellent advice and also write intelligent understandable letters to adversaries. So happy to be represented by them.’

‘The partner who represents us is Dr. Bernd Elsner. He is very bright and understands abstract facts immediately. He saved the company much money by thinking critical and has deep knowledge of Austrian and EU law. Dr. Elsner is very reliable and easy to reach. If engaged , he does the work himself.’

‘Very competent in public procurement law and administrative law, especially administrative criminal law.’

‘Robert Keisler is a very competent lawyer with high experience in administrative and administrative penalty proceedings as well as public procurement procedures.’

‘Great team of experts in procurement law.’

‘Well-known experts in their field.’

‘The team is very dedicated to find solutions in particularly special situations.’

‘The team is professional, pragmatic and fast. The working relationship is very pleasant.’

‘The employees are there for you almost around the clock when you need support. We get a quick and reliable assessment of the legal situation. ‘

‘The law firm is responding within shortest possible time, they are not just providing a service but are bringing the task to an end even though they are not held responsible for a result they try to contribute to achieve the result of the client and are thinking out of the box.’

‘I’ve worked mostly directly with Bernhard Müller in this team who is a renowned expert in the field of public law in Austria and at the same time highly available, highly approachable and who has worked with us to find practical solutions that offer security.’

‘Bernhard Müller is a very knowledgeable person in the field.’

‘Masters in their field, using their perfect private/professional network for the client.’

‘Dr Tatjana Katalan has excellent knowhow of the legal subject (permitting of renewables in Austria) and is always very responsive and keen to find a good and pragmatic solution.’

‘High performance orientation with short reaction times and high quality input into relevant legal subjects.’

‘Super pragmatic, hands-on, fast professional advice with highest quality standards.’

‘Highly competent and experienced, quick solutions, wide scope of legal areas.’

‘Highly competent and experienced.’

‘The team is highly skilled, works extremely professional, they interact perfectly, are well informed. It is a pleasure to work with them. 100% reliable’

‘Tatjana Katalan – Dworak: She is absolutely skilled and experienced in public law, especially for infrastructure and energy matters. She has perfect understanding of the matter, is well connected among Austrian authorities and industry professionals. She is very tough in negotiations and in front of the court.’

‘Herbst Kinsky has a young and highly qualified team. In particular, the practice group Public Law offers broad but profound knowledge and has always been able to provide prompt and target-oriented legal assessments of complex issues.’

‘In this team, Valerie Mayer is particularly prominent due to her convincing assertiveness and openness with a high level of expertise in public law, more specifically public procurement law. She approaches tasks systematically and innovatively, in a personal and extremely competent manner.’

‘They are exquisite in their field, a lot of experience and expertise.’

‘Direct contact to relevant people, single points of contact per topic, good expertise in relevant topics’

‘Valerie Mayer: Highly motived, strong customer focus, extremely responsive, good understanding of industry specific context, hands-on mentality.’

‘There is a lot of competence, on the other hand, the law firm is small enough to give you as a client the feeling of personal care.’

‘Dr. Valerie Mayer and her team are very strong in the administrative and public law sector and always aware of customers need with a special view on the economic situation.’

‘Dr. Valerie Mayer has a very good business oriented point of view how to approach certain administrative law topic and reacts very fast regarding all client requests.’